This invention is related to body implantable systems, and more particularly to miniature electronic components for use in delivering drugs into patients.
There is a large population of people and animals who would greatly benefit from the ability to have an implanted drug delivery device. Many delivery devices have been developed, but few have found widespread clinical use because of the large size required. Drug delivery systems have long been used to provide patients with appropriate dosages of drugs over extended periods. Implantable devices have the advantage of assuring patient compliance and delivery accuracy, as well as the ability to create high local concentrations of medications without systemic side effects such as those occurring with chemotherapeutic drugs. These advantages make local, implantable drug delivery the most effective treatment for many therapeutic regimens. This application discloses a drug delivery system based on programmable intervals similar to the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,051 entitled xe2x80x9cProgrammable Control Means For Providing Safe And Controlled Medication Infusion,xe2x80x9d issued Mar. 15, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,107 entitled xe2x80x9cElectrically Controllable Non-Occluding, Body Implantable Drug Delivery System,xe2x80x9d issued Aug. 20, 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,379 entitled xe2x80x9cApparatus And Method For Implanting Self-Powered Medication Dispensing,xe2x80x9d issued Jan. 18, 1977, all of the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.
This application also discloses methods to deliver drugs based on a sensed physiological need, examples being described in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,552 entitled xe2x80x9cImplantable Drug Delivery Pump,xe2x80x9d issued Dec. 12, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,175 entitled xe2x80x9cBlood Glucose Control Apparatus,xe2x80x9d issued Oct. 25, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,041 entitled xe2x80x9cSystem For Monitoring And Controlling Blood Glucose,xe2x80x9d issued Mar. 2, 1993; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,250 entitled xe2x80x9cSystems And Methods For Operating Ambulatory Medical Devices Such As Drug Delivery Devices,xe2x80x9d issued Aug. 19, 1997, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspect thereof, is a system for delivering a drug to a patient. The system comprises a drug storage medium for storing a drug; and one or more aggregations of semiconductor devices operatively connected to the drug storage medium for monitor and control of the dispensing of the drug. The system is then implanted in the body of the patient at a drug delivery site for delivery of the drug to said site.